Summer Paradise
by damonsalvat0re
Summary: Things that should have happened in the summer before season 3. Damon/Elena. Full of oneshots.
1. Holding On & Letting Go

**Hey! So I wanted to do this forever... Oneshots of things that should've happened in the summer that didn't :D Tell me what you guys think?**

The soft sound of music attempted to relax Elena, who was adding another blanket to her bed, making a total of 4 blankets. Despite it being summer, too many things were happening to warm her. Sliding into bed again, Elena closed her eyes for the hundredth time that night, trying to let sleep overcome her.

It wasn't working. Frustrated, Elena turned the music up slightly louder, trying to drown herself with it. She thought of writing in her diary, something that helped her sort her feelings out so many times, but she rejected the idea. What was she suppose to write? _Oh, my ex boyfriend is on the loose with Klaus, the oldest vampire ever. Too make it worse, I've developed feelings for my ex boyfriend's older brother, who has been more than helpful lately._

Yeah, not to comforting, Elena thought. Flipping over on her bed with a huff, Elena tightly closed her eyes. She hoped for a picture of flowers but instead got a picture of both Salvatore brothers.

"Ugh!" Elena screamed, burying her face into her pillow, inhaling the scent of her lavender scented shampoo.

"Frustrated?" a familiar voice asked, making Elena stop in the middle of her mini crisis.

She slowly lifted her head up, shifting positions to see Damon standing near her (now) open window, a smirk on his gorgeous face. A small blush crept up from her neck, threatening to spread across her cheeks.

"Oh, uh," she stuttered, avoiding his intense gaze. "A bit."

He walked towards her, sitting on the edge of her bed. "It's 1 o'clock at night. What's got you up?"

Elena crossed her arms across her chest, studying him. "It's 1 o'clock at night. What are _you_ doing here?"

Damon chuckled. "I was with Alaric, looking at any leads on Stefan. Heard you up, decided to check on you."

Elena felt slightly stupid - of course his reason is reasonable. "Through the window?"

"Well, Alaric wouldn't exactly approve of me going up here." Damon winked at her, causing her to throw a pillow at him and just roll her eyes.

"So why can't you sleep?" Damon asked seriously, in a more quiet voice.

Elena sighed, falling into her pillow that was not thrown. "Too many thoughts, none of them good."

Damon moved so he was lying beside her, moving a stray of her dark hair away from her face. "We'll get him back."

Elena felt herself relax into his touch, something she hasn't been able to do lately. "I think there's a reason why Klaus wanted Stefan as his partner."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "I don't think there's anything going on between them two, if that's what you're worried about."

Elena giggled, the sound making Damon smile slightly. "You know what I mean."

Damon shrugged, his hand still stroking her cheek softly. "Maybe."

Elena stared into Damon's blue eyes, feeling way too comfortable for how she should be feeling. She felt Damon's leg pressed against hers, his body very close to hers.

"Do you ever feel guilty?" her small voice asked, leaning in even closer to Damon.

Damon's hand rested on Elena's cheek. "Guilty for what?"

Elena felt another blush trying to creep its way up. "For feeling the way you do."

Damon raised his eyebrows in surprise. "All the time," he finally answered.

Elena yawned, resisting the urge to snuggle up against Damon and finally sleep. However, she nodded her head in agreement. "Me too."

"For being in love with Stefan?" Damon's eyebrows came together in confusion.

Normally, Elena wouldn't admit this out loud. But she wasn't thinking right as she corrected him. "For being in love with you."

Elena watched Damon's eyes widened as she realized what she said. But what could she say? She was in love with him. She can't just take the words back.

"You're tired, Elena. You're not thinking right," Damon said, but seemed to be convincing himself rather than her.

"Yeah, I'm tired. Probably why I said it. But it's still true." Elena felt confident with her answer, knowing it was right.

Damon's face was inches from hers, his blue eyes staring at her lips. He glanced back up at Elena, waiting for her invitation.

Doing the one thing she's wanted to do since she met him, she wrapped an arm around his neck, bringing his lips to meet hers. His arm wrapped around her, his hand resting on her lower back. His other hand was still resting on her cheek, slowly stroking it. For a minute, both of them felt completely safe as they shared a moment neither of them wanted to end.

When they broke apart, their lips still lingered close to each other. Damon kissed Elena's cheek before she snuggled up to him, letting her nightmares vanish. As she closed her eyes, she only heard one last thing from Damon as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you."

**So please tell me if I should add more oneshots to this! Each one won't have anything to do with each other, so the next oneshot will be completely different from this.**

**Review?**

**- Julia :)**


	2. For The First Time

**Hey guys. I know, I know. I suck at updating. But, it's summer now for me (YAYYYY) so hopefully my updates are more frequent. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or these characters**

* * *

_We're smiling but we're close to tears_

_Even after all these years, _

_We just now got the feeling that we're meeting_

**_For the first time_**

**_- The Script_**

* * *

"_Camping?_" Elena asked, an undeniable incredulous tone to her voice.

Caroline shrugged, her blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders. "Why not? Lets ditch this drama for a few days."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like it's that easy."

"It'll be fun!" Caroline tried to convince her friend.

Elena just continued on making her lunch, giving no sign of interest.

Caroline started to smirk before singing, "Damon's going!"

Elena froze. "_Damon_ is going _camping_?"

"Well," Caroline said slowly, "he will if you go…"

"Caroline, who have you convinced to go camping?"

Caroline smiled brightly, knowing she was winning Elena over with her idea. "Matt, Tyler, Alaric, and Jeremy."

Elena laughed. "Psh, Jeremy?"

"He said if it makes you happy…"

Elena sighed, running a hand through her hair. "How long will the trip be?"

Caroline allowed herself another victorious grin. "We'll be leaving tomorrow morning, and be coming back on Tuesday."

Elena nodded slowly. Tomorrow was a Friday, so 4 nights she would be camping. Camping with her ex-boyfriend Matt, werewolf classmate Tyler, vampire hunter guardian Alaric, younger brother Jeremy, vampire best friend Caroline, and ex boyfriend's brother Damon.

And we're all going to try to act like normal friends, Elena thought grimly.

"Fine. Whatever. I'm in."

Caroline clapped her hands and giggled. "Yes! Now go pack after your lunch!

* * *

Elena did not know why she agreed to driving with Damon. Their constant bicker and changing of the radio stations made Alaric and Jeremy continuously ask for peace and quiet. But Elena couldn't help it - the words she threw at Damon flowed out of her mouth without any other reconsideration.

"I've never been so anxious to get to a campground before," Jeremy said when Damon commented on how annoying Elena's favourite song was.

Elena threw a glare over her shoulder at Jeremy before looking out the windows. She smiled softly to herself at the relaxing view. The tall green trees protected them from the bright sun and the bumpy road reminded Elena of old times.

When they arrived at building where they check in, Alaric quickly ran in. 5 minutes later he returned with a map, and him and Damon navigated their way through the campground.

"Right here," Alaric said, pointing to an empty campsite. Beside their campsite was Caroline, Tyler, and Matt, attempting to put up two tents.

Elena turned around in her seat to face Jeremy. "You'll be sleeping in the same tent as Tyler and Matt, okay?"

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "I know, I know."

Elena got out of the car, smiling at Caroline. Caroline skipped over to her, obviously happy her friend had came.

"This weekend is going to be _so _fun!" Caroline exclaimed.

Elena forced herself to think that. _This weekend is something we all need. A break from all the Stefan and Klaus drama_

"We should probably put our tent up," Caroline said. "Tyler and Matt can barely put their own tent up, we shouldn't make them put ours up."

* * *

Elena had to admit that so far, she's been having fun. Seeing Jeremy so happy for once put a smile on her face that she couldn't erase. They had made hamburgers and hot dogs with the mini barbeque they packed, along with a salad. Then, once it started to get darker, they had a contest to see who could roast the best marshmallow.

Elena, of course, lost. She loved burning her marshmallows and sadly, the winning marshmallow had to be golden.

But there was one person who sat out all the activities.

Damon.

He had set up his tent (a six person one even though it was only him), and claimed he was going on a walk.

A seven hour walk.

Thank God, she thought, that he answered her 10 phone calls, reassuring he was fine. And no, he was not ditching them, he was just enjoying the nice air. And what, no, that was not someone giving him a free rental boat.

So Elena relaxed, trying to sleep. Except, of course, she couldn't. Caroline was snoring softly beside her, and the quiet laughter that had been coming from her brother's tent had ended when 1 o'clock had came.

It was now 2:30 am, and she still couldn't sleep.

Grabbing a sweater, Elena quietly unzipped the tent. When the blonde vampire didn't show a sign of waking up, Elena jumped out, then quickly zipped the tent back up. She quickly slid her feet into a pair of flip flops, then took a look around.

The moon's light illuminated the whole campsite. A small glow came from the fireplace, but that was the only other light she had. Elena stumbled to the picnic table, blindly reaching out for a flashlight. Once she grabbed one, she turned it on, making her way to the campsite beside her, where Alaric's tent and Damon's tent were.

"Elena?" a voice said from behind when she reached the neighbouring campsite. Elena stifled a scream, turning to be face to face with Damon.

"Damon," she breathed out, calming down.

"What are you doing up so late?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I couldn't sleep, so…." Elena honestly didn't know what she was doing. She wondered if he would believe her if she said she thought his campsite were the bathrooms.

Most likely not.

"Uh…" Elena awkwardly scratched her head when Damon still waited for her to answer. "I came to see… if you wanted to go on a walk with me?"

Damon blinked, surprised. He did not except Elena to say that.

In her defense, she didn't either.

"Sure," Damon said after a few seconds.

Five minutes into their walk, and neither of them had said anything. Every time Elena heard an animal run by in the bushes, she moved closer to Damon, causing him to smirk. To any other sane person, a small animal would be safer to them than a vampire. But Elena was a doppelganger and almost everyone she now knew had something supernatural related to them, so she wasn't exactly sane.

"So," Elena said, finally breaking the silence between the two.

"So."

They were approaching a beach. Elena pointed to the dock, "Want to sit there?

"Sure."

When they reached the end of the dock, Elena sat down, taking off her flip flops. She then let her feet lightly touch the cool water, watching as Damon did the same.

"I used to do this all the time when I went to my family's lake house," Elena said, watching her feet make a swirling motion in the water. "I would just sit on the dock, watching the stars, the lake."

Damon smiled softly. "I remember when I was 10 years old, and Stefan had just turned 4, we went camping. I was standing by the dock, waiting to fish, when Stefan ran right into me, because he was so excited. I fell into the water."

The picture of a ten year older Damon being pushed into the water by a 4 year old Stefan made Elena giggle.

Elena and Damon proceeded to trade stories of their childhood. For a couple of hours, they were no longer the vampire and the doppelganger. They were Damon and Elena, boy and girl, just enjoying each other,_ having fun._

When the sun started to rise, Elena realized how long she and Damon talked for. She stared at the lake, her tired eyes taking in it's beauty.

"We should probably go back," Damon said when Elena yawned. Elena nodded, taking Damon's hand as he helped her up.

"I'm probably going to be sleeping all day," Elena said, laughing softly. Her laugh broke off when she saw Damon's serious gaze on her.

He took a few steps towards her until he was close enough for her to wrap her arms around him. Elena's breathing became uneven when he leaned his head down towards her. His hand touched her cheek, making her head tilt up.

And she let him kiss her, because she'd been longing for him to kiss her since ever. It was a simple, sweet kiss, but it still made her gasp for air afterwards.

"Good morning," he murmured into her ear, his cheek pressed against hers.

_Yes, _Elena thought. _Definitely a good morning._

**Aww. So did you like it? Tell me in a review what you**** did and didn't like. :D**

**Also, feel free to give me any ideas for a oneshot. :)**

**_DEstiny._ **


	3. Fall For You

**Short, I know. *sigh* **

**But I've decided to try and update every Sunday. If that works out, I'll try twice a week. :)**

* * *

_But hold your breath,_

_Because tonight will be the night_

_That I will fall for you, over again,_

_Don't make me change my mind_

_- Fall for You, Secondhand Serenade_

_28:53 _

Elena ran faster on the treadmill, even though her aching legs screamed at her to stop.

_29:00_

Her hands fumbled with her water bottle, then she brought it to her mouth, letting the cool water run down her dry throat. Now empty, she put it back in the water bottle holder.

_29:47_

Elena pushed herself to run faster. The next ten seconds felt more like hours, the longing to stop running becoming stronger.

_30:00_

With a sigh of relief, Elena pushed the stop button on the treadmill. Her legs were shaking slightly as she walked to the change rooms. For some reason she loved the feeling of being totally worn out. It meant that she had trained really good that day and was starting to get stronger.

Hopping into a shower, Elena felt her muscles start to relax. She knew the next day her arms would ache from the arm workouts she did today, but she didn't care. She lived with vampires now. With werewolves and witches. She was the doppelganger. She no longer lived in a fairytale world.

After her quick shower she quickly dried off and got changed. As she left the gym she threw a small smile in the direction of the gym employees, then entered the humid summer night air.

Once Elena reached her car, Elena just felt like driving home and collapsing on her comfortable bed. But no, there was one more thing to do.

Ten minutes later Elena pulled up into Salvatore Boarding House's driveway. No light came from the house, but Elena knew Damon was home. She quickly put her wet hair in a bun then hopped out of her car.

Something felt off.

Slowly, Elena reached into her pocket, pulling out a small stake. Wielding it in her hand, she moved forward slowly, trying her best to be silent.

_Snap!_

Elena swirled around, coming face to face with a stranger. Veins surrounded his dark brown eyes and his fangs gleamed in the moonlight.

Elena tried to scream, but the vampire spun her around and slapped a hand over her mouth. She stabbed the vampire's arm with the small stake, making him release her.

Elena stumbled forward, running towards the house. Just as she was five feet from the door, the vampire appeared in front of her, anger radiating off of him.

"You _bitch_!" the vampire hissed, lunging at Elena and grabbing her shoulders. He tilted his head back then brought it down to her neck, creating excruciating pain for her.

However, she wasn't going to just give up. Struggling against him wouldn't do much, so she did the one thing that she knew for sure would work.

"_Damon!"_

* * *

DAMON POV

It was another day full of failure.

There was no new leads of Stefan. He knew leaving would be easier to find him, but he couldn't do that to Elena. He couldn't just leave her, unprotected.

_He didn't want to leave her._

Sighing, he poured himself some more bourbon. He needed an escape. A distraction.

But only a drop came out. Frowning, he dropped the bottle of bourbon, letting it shatter on the ground.

_Just like his heart_, he thought. _Shattered. Unwanted._

Without warning, more painful thoughts entered his mind, and he grabbed an unopened bottle of bourbon. He drank a bit right from the bottle, not bothering to pour some into a cup.

Just as he was about to drunkenly walk to the fireplace and sulk in front of the burning flames, he heard something.

It sounded like footsteps. Then faint voices.

Then, "_Damon_!"

Immediately Damon was out the door, grabbing the vampire that was attacking Elena. The vampire tried to fight back, but it was a new born one, and Damon had over a hundred years of advantage. Throwing the vampire at a nearby tree, Damon ran to another, breaking off a decent size branch.

"Don't touch her!" Damon growled, pushing the young vampire yet again against the tree. The branch in his hand was positioned right at the vampire's stomach.

Terrified, the vampire pleaded for Damon to stop. But Damon was too drunk and angry to listen, so instead of releasing him, he watched as the vampire turned grey.

* * *

ELENA POV

"Oh my god." The words had escaped Elena's lips without a warning, barely loud enough to even be considered a whisper. Damon turned around, dropping the lifeless vampire he was holding.

"I'm sorry Elena," he said, a slight slur accenting his voice. He walked towards her, tripping a bit.

Elena sighed, running a hand through her dark hair. "You're drunk, aren't you?"

Damon was almost touching her, he was so close. Elena held her breath as his hand came up to stroke her cheek. "I really am sorry, Elena."

She nodded slightly. "I know, Damon."

Then he was looking at her, really looking at her. Elena didn't know what to do - he was drunk, and she knew she should probably go home. But she couldn't bring herself to leave, not when he was looking at her like this.

"You're so beautiful," he mumbled.

Elena mentally cursed at herself for not going when she could have. Now she was stuck staring at him, her heart beating so fast she knew he could probably hear it, and feeling so loved.

And she hated the fact that someone could love her as much as Damon did. She didn't deserve it. Not when she treated him so badly, rejected him so much. Yet she craved his love, needed it, because nowadays, that was one of the only things keeping her going.

Then he was leaning forward, his forehead touching hers. His hand kept stroking her cheek as his eyes closed and his lips touched hers.

She should've pushed him away. She should've told him when he got to close to her that she was tired and had to go home.

But not only was she physically tired, she was _emotionally_ tired. Tired of denying things. Tired of pretending. Tired of trying to love Stefan and not Damon.

So she kissed him back. Because he was drunk and she was tired and they were both not thinking of the consequences, only of the moment that, damnit, felt to perfect to end.

But it did end. Damon and Elena slowly pulled back to look at each other, both wonderstruck.

Both feeling way too guilty and free of regret at the same time.

* * *

**Yeah, kind of OOC, I know. I'm also worried it was a bit cheesy. **

**But really, I just hope you guys enjoyed it, because I know I loved writing this chapter. And if any of you guys have suggestions, I'd love to hear them!**

**Review? :)**


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